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Development of the body checking questionnaire: A self‐report measure of body checking behaviors
Author(s) -
Reas Deborah L.,
Whisenhunt Brooke L,
Netemeyer Rick,
Williamson Donald A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.10012
Subject(s) - psychology , internal consistency , dieting , psychometrics , construct validity , eating disorders , reliability (semiconductor) , measure (data warehouse) , body weight , concurrent validity , clinical psychology , medicine , weight loss , obesity , data mining , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science
Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a brief self‐report inventory to assess body checking behaviors. Method Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the 23‐item Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ) was developed. The BCQ measures the global construct of body checking behaviors with three correlated subfactors that assess checking related to overall appearance, checking of specific body parts, and idiosyncratic checking rituals. Results The BCQ was found to have good test‐retest reliability (.94) and the subfactors had good internal consistency (.88, .92, and .83). The measure correlated highly with other measures of negative body image and eating disorders, demonstrating its concurrent validity. Additionally, the BCQ was found to differentiate normal controls and eating disorder patients, as well as nonclinical participants scoring high and low on a measure of concern with body size and dieting. Discussion Due to the potential role of ritualistic body checking in the maintenance of body dissatisfaction by directing excessive attention to body shape/weight, the BCQ may prove to be a useful clinical tool in the assessment and treatment of eating disorder patients. © 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 31: 324–333, 2002; DOI 10.1002/eat.10012